Roof replaced at historic Coley House in Weston

Thanks in part to a grant, the Coley Farm House on the Weston Historical Society property received a new wood-shingled roof.

The roof cost about $25,000 to replace. The historical society received a $10,000 matching grant from The 1772 Foundation in cooperation with the 2016 Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation that led to it’s replacement.

The balance of the roof-replacement project has been partially funded by donations to the society during the 2016 Fairfield County Gives campaign, a regional fund-raising effort and from donations by historical society trustees.

The house sits on the Coley Homestead located at 104 Weston Road, a 3.7 acre parcel of land that hosts the Weston Historical Society.

“Like any homeowner, replacing your home’s roof is not something you undertake easily,” said Dallas Kersey, President of the Weston Historical Society. “But in our case, it was essential to do it now. There were leaks that would have damaged the structure and antiques.”

The work on the Coley Farm House is part of a multi-year plan to preserve the three historic structures, and their contents, that sit on the Coley Homestead.

“We are looking to the future for Coley House, and will be embarking on a condition assessment and feasibility studies for the structure,” said Susan Bromley, Executive Director of the Weston Historical Society. “Our goal is to make Coley House a more active part of the historical society’s programs and activities, and make it come alive within the context of the Weston community.”

The work on the Coley House roof was finished on July 25 by Scott Donahue of Slate & Copper Services, LLC of Trumbull. Donahue did the last roof replacement 30 years ago.

“The board of trustees is going through the thought process of what we want to do with the house on a long-term basis,” said Kersey. “It’s very much on my mind and we want to make sure it gets good use.”

Kersey said that the Coley house has major foundational issues that need to be addressed before there can be any extended use of the building.

The Coley house was built in 1841 by David Coley as the house for a 200 acre farm. The farm was primarily an apple orchard but, according to Kersey, they had a large variety of animals that grazed the land.

“We really want to make the historical society more accessible and we think having the Coley house open to the public is a way to do that,” said Kersey. “We have unbelievable things here at the historical society that really add to the Weston community.”

According to Kersey, many students cycle through Weston schools without knowing anything about town history and he wants the historical society to have an amplified role in the lives of young people in town.

“Our plan for this year is to have Santa Claus at the Coley House just before Christmas,” said Kersey. “We want to get as many people through the door as possible.”

The Weston Forum

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